Editor’s note: Emma Zapletalová has had a most excellent 2026! Winning successive Diamond League meets, setting successive Slovakian NRs. Her gold medal, proudly won for her country, Slovakia, was the first GOLD medal at the Europeans for Slovakia since 2010 Barcelona, where LIbor Charfreitag took the gold in the hammer throw. Stuart Weir captured the excitement of one of our sport’s most challenging events, the 400m hurdles!
Women’s 400 hurdles
The women’s 400h was a high-quality event with two PRs and an NR!
1 Emma Zapletalová (Slovakia) 52.91
2 Emily Newnham (GB) 53.33 PR
3 Fatoumata Binta Diallo (Portugal) 53.55 NR
4 Paulien Couckuyt (Belgium) 53.87 PR=
Zapletalová said afterward: “It was very satisfying to justify my ranking as favorite and become the European champion. Honestly, I am disappointed with my performance as my target was a new PR, but I was far away from my best. For the first time in my life, I made a mistake on the hurdle where I did 16 steps, but I am the gold medallist, and this is the most important thing at the moment. There will be another chance to run better and faster at the next competition. I am endlessly happy that I managed it and was not affected by the pressure. This is a precious medal for Slovakia – gold after a long 16 years. I still have to digest it. This season is just making us happy. This was one of the season’s peaks for me, and the mission is complete. Now, the relay”.
Sometimes athletes make very bland comments after a race. It was refreshing to hear Zapletalová give such an honest assessment of her performance and the emotions she felt upon winning for her small country.
Emily Newnham, just past her 22nd birthday, has had quite a two weeks. First a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games and now a silver in the Europeans.
“It was hard being in Lane 9. I’m not someone who’s usually known for getting out hard, so I wanted to be unpredictable today and try to go a bit harder and finish strong. Matt Hudson-Smith inspired me after what he did in lane nine, as I had been thinking, ‘Oh no, I’m in lane nine ‘. It gave me great belief.
“It’s always scary when you know what you’re capable of because if I don’t live up to that It can hurt even more. Although failure is inevitable, I’m not afraid of it. When I’m not afraid, I can run so freely. That was my strength today. I always want to run and win. I don’t want the first feeling when I cross the line to be relief and like ‘Thank God that’s over’. Instead, I’m thinking, ‘Yeah, I did that’. It’s hard making the jump from juniors and U23s to seniors. Doing relays has really helped me get my foot in the door, and now my foot isn’t just in the door; I’m being proactive. That really means a lot to me. I was trying so hard not to look at what the medal looks like when I was coming down but my roommate (Charlotte Henrich) smashed the relay on Monday, so she showed me her medal and I thought immediately I want one of those. I’m so happy to finally have my own. The GB team doing so well is so inspiring”.
I included a long quote from Emily as she seemed very thoughtful. It was also interesting to see the extent to which she benefited from being on a team, as well as from Matt’s storming run. In another interview she mentioned that her mum had been in hospital for the past 3 months. Athletes often have a back-story that people know nothing about.
Lina Nielsen was sixth in 54.35. Lina has MS, and I well remember that awful 2022 season when she was in the European, Commonwealths, and Worlds, running 57s and 58s, as that was all her body was capable of. Great to see her able to manage her performance and produce excellent times.
That leads me to my favorite gripe of the week – the nonsense of byes. Lina is gracious and articulate, and she highlighted that she was the only athlete in the final to run a third race and the difference it could have made.
Lina explained her feelings: “I’m can’t be too upset I can in ranked 14th so to finish 6th is a good place to be in. Although I can’t help but feel like I was robbed of a better performance tonight. I was the only one in that final to have done the heat. I didn’t get as many opportunities as the other girls to race in really good meets to get into the top 12.
It is also just a bit disheartening to know that everyone ran their best on a second run, but my second run was a semi.
“Yeah, and, to do back-to-back heats and semis, within 24 hours, is quite tough, and then, a good short turnaround to the final. It was telling at the home straight; I didn’t have the strength; everyone else had it. So a bit upsetting, but again, can’t be too disheartened; I did come in ranked 14th, so 6th is a good place to finish. I also think there is another argument. Not all 12 would make the final.
I took someone’s spot in the final. So they also come to these championships; they’re only having one run, which is not what a championship should be at all.
Well said!
